Tax Filing Deadline

Understanding your U.S. tax obligations

ALL international students and scholars are required to file a U.S. tax return even if you do not have U.S. source income.

If you receive U.S. source income, including wages, stipend, or scholarship funds, you will have a tax liability for that income. There may be automatic tax withholdings from your paycheck, stipend or financial aid, meaning in some cases your U.S. source income will be reduced by the tax withholdings.

How can ISSO assist you?

To make things easier for you, Brandeis University has teamed up with Sprintax - an online tool specifically designed for international students and scholars which helps you prepare your federal and State return in less than 20 minutes!

ISSO staff are not tax experts and therefore cannot help you prepare your return nor provide you with tax advice.

Do you REALLY need to file? Yes, yes you do!

ALL international students and scholars who were in the U.S. for any period of time during any calendar year must file a federal income tax return. And some international students and scholars will need to file a state tax return. If you did not have any U.S. source income, you will ONLY file Form 8843. If you have U.S. source income, your next step is to determine your tax filing status.

Why?

Filing a return is a legal requirement of the United States. Failing to file may impact the status of your current visa and make future US visa applications difficult.

Avoid penalties – If you miss the April 15th deadline you may face late filing penalties. Filing prior to this date prevents this, so the earlier you file, the better.

You may be owed a tax refund – most international students filing a tax return are due a tax refund for overpaid tax.

(1) Determine your tax filing status

Before you begin your tax return, you will need to determine your tax filing status: nonresident or resident. Most Brandeis international students and scholars will be nonresident tax filers. However, some of you will be resident tax filers even though you have a nonimmigrant visa status. It is important to file in the correct status. If you do not know your tax filing status, Sprintax will help you determine it. Sprintax is only available for nonresident tax filers, so if Sprintax determines you are a resident for tax purposes, ISSO will refund your Sprintax fee.

(2) Collect your income statements

Before you begin your tax return using Sprintax, you will need to collect your income statements. If you had U.S. source income you will receive one or more forms from the Brandeis Payroll Office indicating the type, source and amount of income received:

W-2 form - issued by the end of January for wages earned

1042-S form - issued by March 15th for stipend, scholarship,fellowship income, as well as for income covered by a tax treaty

1099 form - issued for miscellaneous income

Schedule H-C - issued by your health insurance company to confirm your health insurance coverage (KEEP this form as you may need it if you file a MA state tax return)

Purchase Sprintax at the ISSO

The $4 pays for Sprintax software for your federal income tax return. If you need to file a state income tax return, you can pay an additional amount via Sprintax OR you can file your state return using another tax resource of your choice.

Get Started With Sprintax

(4) Print, sign and mail your return

Sprintax will populate the appropriate federal and state income tax forms for you. This software does not submit your tax filing electronically. You must print and sign the forms, attach the appropriate copies of your income statements and follow the instructions to mail them to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Keep copies of your returns

(5) State Income Tax Filing

Sprintax can help file your MA State Income Tax Return for an additional fee.

The State of Massachusetts (through the Department of Revenue Services) requires an annual report of income, and assesses tax on the same type of income that is taxed by the federal government. Individuals who earned less than the minimum filing requirement do not have to file. However, if any tax was withheld by the employer, the individual would want to file a return in order to be refunded for the withholding.

(6) Did your employer withhold Social Security or Medicare taxes in error?

All residents and “resident aliens for tax purposes” are required to pay a Social Security tax (FICA and Medicare), which totals nearly 8% of their earned income. “Nonresident aliens for tax purposes” are exempt from this tax. If your employer had Social Security or Medicare taxes withheld in error, you can file a refund request with the IRS.

(7) Protect yourself from IRS scam phone calls & emails

Tax scams take many different forms. Recently, the most common scams are phone calls and emails from thieves who pretend to be from the IRS. They use the IRS name, logo or a fake website to try to steal your money. They may try to steal your identity too. Here are several tips from the IRS to help you avoid being a victim of these tax scams.